Ladder-bracket.



122mm GGPY H. HOLDEN.

LADDER BRACKET.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. I915.

Patented Sept. 28, 1915.

I-LiOLDEN HOLDEN, OF EAST NIEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

prion,

' LADDER-BRACKET.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that Lllonnnn HOLDEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Newark, county of Essex, and'State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ladder-Brackets, of which the following is a specification.

form from which to work or on which to place his materials and tools.

The invention relates to abracket of this kind which is formed preferably of one piece and does not necessarily have any moving parts, the bracket being adapted to be hooked over the rungs of a ladder and providing'an approximately horizontal surface for the. support of. planks and the like, the bracket being firm when in place and being easily handled, since it is as light as consistent with its supporting power.

The invention is further designed to pro vide a bracket which can be used on one or both sides of a ladder and. when used so as to support a platform. on the front and the back of a ladder at the sametime, the platforms can be supported at the same height,

but they are supportedby different rungs so that the weight is distributed over morethan one rung when both the front and rear of the ladder are used, thus insuring the safety of the workman by such distribution of weight. V f

The invention isillustrated in, theaceompanying drawing in which one embodiment of my invention is illustrated, although it will be evident that minor parts can be changed as towthei'r' sizes and dispositions without" departing from the scope of the invention. p r

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved bracket; Fig. 2 is a section of a ladder and of platforms supported by the brackets, the figure illustrating two brackets "in side view, the upper bracket being used on the front face of the ladder and the lower bracket being used on the rear side of the ladder. Fig. 3 is a front view of a pair of ladders, each ladder having a bracket thereon and a plank sup- Serial No. 19,568.

ported by said brackets, this view illustrat ing one manner of mounting a plank to form a platform and illustrating one way of bracing the whole structure by means of the bracket. 7

. The bracket is easily transportable, being light, and can be put into place by a single workman, and comprises preferably a onepiece triangular frame having hooks disposed at suitable points so that the bracket can behooked over one rung of a ladder and Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 28, 1915.

Application filed April 6, 1915.

bear against the 'neXt lower rung, and when so hung it has a side projecting to act as a support on which a platform is placed, this platform either being a short board to form a seat'or a long plank which extends from a bracket on one ladder to a bracket on another ladder, thus forming a scaffold.

The bracket is adapted for the use of billposters, plumbers, carpenters, millwrights, and in fact any trade or situation where a workman desires a platform or scaffold.

The device is more easily transported than the ordinary form of wooden horse that is usually employed in making scaffolds, and is more secure than a swinging scaffold.

The bracket is preferably in the form of an'open frame which makes it light and which also provides, on its inner side, means for supporting the platform of the scaffold when the bracket is in certain positions, which use is to be described hereinafter. In the form shown the bracket consists of a frame formed substantially as a right-angled triangle,'the preferred form being an obtuse-angled triangular frame. The frame 1.0 has a triangular form, the different arms for the purpose of clear description and for identification being called the base 11, the

15 for lightening the device, which is" not essential, but is usually preferable in order perpendicular l2, and the hypotenuse 13.

' The place between the arms is cut away so as to form an opening 14,'the open framethusv provided being provided with suitable holes 10.0

to make the brackets easily transportable. I I,

One of the sides, such as the base 11, is providedwith a hook 16, the hook being preferably placed near or at the juncture of the base and the perpendicular and pointing, that 18 having its open side or ltS rece ving recess pointing, toward the juneturel'? of the hypotenuse and the base. The perpendicular is provided with a hook 18 which points toward the first-mentioned hook, the

hook 18 being preferably arranged at the apices at these junctures,

juncture of the hypotenuse and the perpendicular, although it will be understood that these hooks need not be .on the points or Thedevice is illustrated as being used on a ladder having the stiles 19and rungs 20.

When the bracket is to be used on the front of a ladder the hook 18' is hooked over the rung 20, and the back of the hook 16 or any part of the arm ll that is in line therewith rests against the next lower rung and the Copies of tliis'pafcent may be obtained for bracketis thus held in a position where the plank 21 can be rested on the inner edge of the arm 11. j The inner edge of these arms is provided with a rib 22 which acts as a stiffening rib and also acts tov support the plank 21 as shown to the right in Fig. 2. ljVhen the bracket is to be used on the rear ,face'of a ladder, the hook 16 is caught on a rung 20 as shown in the lower left-hand part of Fig. 2, the arm 11 resting against thenext lower rung, and the top edge of the perpendicular 12, which is now uppermost, acts to support the plank 21, the plank 21 being held against accidental shifting or falling from thebracket by the hook 18.' The arms are long enough to receive any ordinary width of plank, and the arms of the bracket are wide enough to provide a substantial bearing against the rungs so as to prevent excessive tipping or canting of the bracket. on the ladder. I T he part 17 acts as a stop. to limit the'outward movement of the plank 21 when the plank is supported as shown to the right in Fig. 2, and thus holds the plank in position, as will be evident.

It will be understood that two brackets placed apart on a rung can be used to support a small platform or short board to form 40 a seat or step from which a workman can work, and in this way even the top rung of a ladder can be utlhzed for supporting the platform'and thus enable a man to gain at least his .own height in extension of a ladder and form a. stable platform from which he can work.

g In Fig. 3 I show one means of placing the bracket and a plank against two ladders so as to thoroughly brace the whole structure. The ladders are shown broken away at the top and bottom, the ladders consisting of the stiles 19 and the rungs 20. A

bracket 10 is shown placed on each ladder next'to the stile nearest the other ladder,

and the plank 21 is supported by the brackets,.extends beyond the brackets and engages the outer stile of each ladder as at 23. This shows one form of use where the inner edge ofthe plank engages the ladder stiles, as shown i i-Fig. 2, and extends to the far stile on each ladder, and it is also adapted to be engaged by the hook 18 in case of any movement of the plank that is calculated to be excessive, and the whole structure is thus braced against collapsing, this also being aided by reason of the bracket having its arms made flat and their outer faces and wide enough to provide a substantial lateral bearing, as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 1. I

Itwill be evidentfrom Fig. 2 that a plank 21 used on the lower or rear face of a ladder, and a plank used on the front face of a ladder. can be maintained at substantially the same level, but the plank on one side of the ladder is supported from a different rung than the plank on the other face of the ladder, and this makes a fairly wide scaflold platform on the same level, but the different planks are supported from different parts of the ladder, thus distributing the weight so as to make the whole support safe.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1 1. A bracket comprising an open triangular frame having hooks on two of its sides,

the hooks pointing in the same direction circumferentlally.

2. A bracket comprising an open triangular frame having hooks on two of its outer side edges, one of said hooks pointing along the edge to which it is secured and the second hook pointing along the edge to which it is secured and toward the corner in rear of the first hook.

3. A bracket comprising an open frame that is substantially of right-angled triangular form having a hook on its base and pointed toward the juncture of the base and the hypotenuse and havmg a hook on its perpendicular arm pointing toward the juncture of the base and the perpendicular. 4:. A bracket comprising an open frame that is substantially of right-angled tri- HOLDEN 'HOLDEN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatents,

Washington, I). G. e 

